I am sure everybody has heard how drugs have been so harmful to our people. Wherever Anishinaabe people live, ambulances are often heard, coming into our communities to pick up those who have overdosed on drugs; some have even died from these overdoses.

It is here that I am going to talk about why this is happening in our community. In a previous article, I talked about where the low self-worth and low self-esteem present in some of our Anishinaabe people comes from. The racism that causes this is still present today. We are pushed into assimilation without even realizing it by what we see and hear on our television sets. It’s like we are brainwashed not to value the beliefs, ceremonies and language that we have been given as Anishinaabe people. It causes us to abandon the ways that we were given as a people.

Every Anishinaabe has a spirit or a soul; that Spirit is Anishinaabe. When we were put on this earth, we were given our own belief system: to put our tobacco every day, and we were also given our own language. When we follow the ways that we were given by the Manidoog, we are feeding our Spirit within which is Anishinaabe. This is what nurtures that spirit and brings peace to us within.

Every Anishinaabe has a spirit or a soul; that Spirit is Anishinaabe. When we were put on this earth, we were given our own belief system: to put our tobacco every day, and we were also given our own language. When we follow the ways that we were given by the Manidoog, we are feeding our Spirit within which is Anishinaabe. This is what nurtures that spirit and brings peace to us within.

We should have compassion for our fellow Anishinaabe who are using drugs. We need to realize that they are not solely responsible for their drug abuse, there are other factors involved. It’s their parents or foster parents who are responsible for this happening, for not strongly encouraging their children to value and to practice diligently our ways that we have been given as a people.

A lot of our young people have been pushed to abandon our teachings as Anishinaabe. The larger society has had a strong influence on their lives. That larger society has nothing that offers them spiritual direction in their lives. Our younger generation are in limbo and do not always rely on our Anishinaabe ways for spiritual support in their lives and certainly do not find anything in that other world to guide them along.

We can see that our younger people have a desire to belong. What they do is adopt the way of speaking that comes from another culture or are easily influenced or drawn to become part of a gang. They will always feel like there is something missing. It’s only after they return to our Anishinaabe ways that they will have peace within. The only way to break the cycle of the drug abuse in our communities is to strengthen the presence of what we have been given as a people.

All of those living within the reservation need to be encouraged to participate in our ceremonies. Everyone has to use their tobacco on a daily basis. Everyone should also learn our language to nurture that Anishinaabe Spirit within us. Our younger people have to work toward learning our ceremonies and to be able to do the talk that goes with these ceremonies. It is going to take some time to turn things around in our communities by strengthening the presence of our culture in the communities.

As we began to see the decreasing interest and participation of Anishinaabe people in our ceremonies, we are seeing the increasing negative impact it is having on our communities with the drug abuse and other dysfunctional behaviors escalating.

Those old people that raised me used to tell me when I was heavy into alcohol use, “You were not put on this earth to waste your life away using drugs and drinking. Those Manidoog had a reason for putting you on this earth. There is something that they want you to accomplish while you are here. It was not meant for you to waste your life by drinking and using drugs. Find out what was meant for you to pursue while you are here on Earth and go after it.”

There are many Anishinaabe who are covering up the drug abuse that exists within their family and refuse to disclose those that might be dealing and selling drugs in their own family. We need to encourage these Anishinaabe to disclose this information to the police. They are not harming their relatives by telling, they are doing them a favor.

Just possibly while they are sitting in jail, they may realize the harm they are doing to themselves. If a relative of yours dies from drug abuse, you would feel bad especially when you realized you could have intervened by disclosing about their drug abuse to the police. If someone is selling drugs, there will be deaths caused by overdoses. This is why they should disclose to the police if they have a relative who is dealing drugs.

It is everybody’s hope that there is an intervention from a higher level for those using drugs in our community. We hope that in some form or fashion that they hear the voice of the Manidoog saying, “Please, Grandchild, make use of the teachings that we have given to the Anishinaabe. It will help you”. It’s from there they may seek the help that is available in our ceremonies to change their lives. Let’s all ask for help for our Anishinaabe in need as we put our tobacco to be able to remove what is holding them down and that they be able to leave the drugs alone.